Indian Cricket in 2014: Rohit, Kohli, B Kumar & Lord’s Win

Indian Cricket in 2014 is a mix of fortune for India. In Test matches it went down to 6th spot while in India it is playing hide-and-seek with No. 1 rank. The double century by Rohit Sharma in ODI, the emergence of Virat Kohli and Bhuvneswar Kumar taller above others, the rare whitewash in ODI series achieved by Dhoni and test win at Lord’s after 43 years, there are many reasons to feel happy, although test matches and IPL scandal has certainly made India feel low.

High Points

World record 264 runs smashed by Rohit Sharma in ODI vs Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens.
Whitewashed Sri Lanka 5-0 in ODI series.
Won test match at Lord’s after 43 years.

Low Points

BCCI fighting court battle over IPL scandal.
Dhoni’s place in Test team as player and Captain under question.
Losing to England at Home.
Thrashed by New Zealand.
Lost an ODI at home to a weak West Indies by huge margin of 124 runs.

Test Matches
BCCI allowed India to play 4.5 test series in 2014 where they played 14 test matches, including the Boxing Day test match. Indians won 2-0 vs West Indies, lost 1-0 each vs South Africa and New Zealand, 3-1 vs England, and currently trailing 2-0 vs Australia with the last test match of the series to be played in 2015.

Overall India won 3, including the historic win at Lord’s Test after 43 years, and lost 7.

ODIs
In ODIs, India played 24 ODIs in 8 bilateral series and Asia Cup. It lost the series 2-0 to South Africa and 4-0 to New Zealand and won the series vs West Indies 2-1, vs Bangladesh 2-0, vs England 3-1, vs West Indies 2-1 and vs Sri Lanka 5-0.

In ODIs, India achieved a rare whitewash against Sri Lanka, while avoiding a whitewash against New Zealand as one match was abandoned and it lost the series 4-0. At Asia Cup it lost to Sri Lanka and Pakistan and did not qualify for the final.

Losing to a weak West Indies team by huge margin of 124 runs at Kochi was unbelievable.

T20s
India played 7 T20s and won 5 of them one each against Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, Australia and South Africa. It lost T20s against Sri Lanka and England.